Vale of Tears: A Thalassia novel

by Patrick McClafferty

  Azzktullua was shaking so badly that Jineva couldn’t understand her finger signs, and then the small Krathaa girl was gone.

 

 

  Thallia’s calm voice commented.

  Jineva replied in a small mental voice.

  Jineva didn’t know what to say.

  The expected argument with Gluznaak never happened. Jineva said, approximately, the same thing to him as she had to Azzktullua. The Krathaa floated beside her, listening to what she had to say, his dark eyes unreadable. He thought about it for two minutes before giving his assent. He was a bit more startled when his daughter told him, after the transfer had been made, that he would receive his own K’ Dreex just as soon as her own could safely twin again.

  “Father wishes to know if you will be able to travel soon.” Azzktullua, in her excitement, kept darting around like a fidgety guppy.

  “I can travel now, if he likes.”

  Azzktullua relayed the message to her father, and turned back. “Good.” Her grin was wide and toothy. “You’re gonna love this.”

  Jineva and the rest of the battered Krathaa group were waiting in the deeper water of the harbor when their ride arrived. The shadow of its passing blotted out the weak sunlight for several seconds.

  “What is that?” Jineva’s hands were trembling.

  The Krathaa girl frowned. “His kind don’t have a name that we could pronounce. We call this one Mauug.”

  “What do we do?”

  “We ride him, of course. We should get you back to the boat by sunset, if we’re lucky.”

  The vast gray creature, fully two hundred feet long, had come to a rest just before them, floating gracefully in the deep dark water. It rolled one dark brown eye to follow Jineva and Azzktullua as they swam by. Reaching out, Jineva touched the tough, barnacle covered side.

  Jineva mused, looking up at the massive, beautiful beast.

  The vast voice in her mind said quietly. She jerked around, staring at the single eye she could see.

 

  There was a deep rumbling laugh within her mind.

  She didn’t have the words.

  Another chuckle. The massive mouth opened, looking like a great menacing cave. Jineva swallowed.

  It took all of Jineva’s courage to enter the mouth, but as he promised, the water inside was warm, and the light soft and plentiful. The trip took only one hour.

  The great voice in her mind said softly.

  Jineva reached out again to the great gentle being.

  The laughter bellowed. He turned and with a flip of his massive fluke, slid off into the deep black.

  Jineva climbed over the stern railing, dropping her fins and goggles to the deck, the noise alerting the sailor standing guard on the front deck. He came rushing back, sword drawn and stopped, mouth hanging open. Jineva was sitting on the deck, blood from her newly reopened leg wound dripping redly on the deck.

  “Don’t just stand there. Get me a bandage and a blanket. It has been a very long day.” He gaped for a moment longer and then spun, almost diving for the companionway. It wasn’t thirty seconds later when he returned, followed closely by Mateo. The blond haired young man turned a full circle, studying the horizon for another boat.

  “How did you get here?” His voice held a trace of anger.

  “You don’t want to know and you wouldn’t believe it anyway. I just wanted to tell you that you can head back to Isla Lemuy now. I’ve gotten all the information I needed.”

  “Are you sure I can’t do anything else for you?” His voice was filled with acid. “We could go to Isla de la Luna and you could get a new dress, or perhaps a new pair of dancing shoes?” One of the other crewmen looked up in fright at the sound of thunder from the clear sky.

  Jineva tied off the bandage and wrapped the warm blanket around her. “Thank you.” She gave a small smile to the seaman who had given the bandage and blanket to her, before turning back to Mateo. “You can go back to Isla Lemuy, Mateo. I will meet you there. I’m going home for a few days.”

  “Back to Isla Rivero?” She wanted to hit him.

  “Just a little further south.” She stepped up on the starboard railing, visualizing the invisible ramp Thallia had used to get them to Elysium that time in Isla de la Luna. She stepped out onto thin air...and it held. She took another step and then another. Thirty feet out and twenty feet up, she stopped and turned. The crew of the schooner was all backed up against the port rail. All except Mateo. His eyes were flashing fire.

  “If you can do it so can I.” He stepped up on the starboard railing. Jineva said nothing. “It’s just a trick. I’ll show...” He took another step—and fell. The splash was quite spectacular. Jineva waited just long enough to make sure the rest of the crew would fish him out before she continued her climb.

  She stepped out onto clover-filled grasses, a soft breeze blowing over her still wet hair. “Hi, Mom, I’m home.”

  Chapter 14

  “It took you long enough.” Thallia was standing beside her, wearing a long belted dress in soft greens and browns.

  Jineva sighed. “I had a little trouble with Mateo.”

  “I heard. Perhaps I could import a monkey from Pangea and you could set him up as king. Then you could turn Mateo into a frog, like you wanted.”

  Jineva actually considered the merits of the idea. In the end she shook her head. “Whoever is king will need the support of Jose and Sofia Vergara. They won’t be so supportive if I turn their adopted son into a toad.”

  “Maybe they sent him to you so that you or someone WOULD turn him into a toad.”

  Jineva laughed. “Now that’s a scary idea.”

  “You’ve lost considerable blood, my dear, and Meara is close to exhaustion. I think I’d better get you to medical.”

  “Whatever you...” Jineva never finished the sentence.

  The boat was rocking gently when Jineva’s eyes opened. The cabin was small, but still much larger than the one she had used in Mateo’s schooner and she guessed, correctly, that she was aboard the Azzktullua. Very faintly, probably from up on deck, she smelled the faint hint of sweet tobacco smoke.

 

  The soft thought of the guardian of Elysium replied.

 

 

  Jineva shut her eyes for a moment, luxuriating in the feel of the soft bed and warm blankets.

  Thallia didn’t reply for a moment. arrived in, crashed in the ocean an automatic sequence of events took place, and thousands of breeding pairs of fish were incubated and released. Several of the survivors were, what your species called whales. Whales were always intelligent, and the favorable waters of Thalassia encouraged his species to grow, until they are almost twice the length they were on old Earth. Bringing the whales was one of the smarter things humans did when they came to Thalassia.>

 

  Through an open window Jineva watched a cloud slide across the clear blue sky, looking like it was about to duck under the golden Thalassian rings.

  Somehow Jineva already knew the answer.

 

 

  Meara laughed softly.

  It was Jineva’s turn to laugh. She swung her bare feet out of the bed and onto the cold deck.

  Diego was sitting on the forward deck, smoking. He smiled when he saw her appear.

  “Good morning.” Reaching out, he tapped the pipe over the side, dumping the hot ashes and replaced it in his deep pocket. “How are you, and how was the trip?”

  Jineva sighed, sitting down next to her father. “Eventful. I found out what we needed to know, and it looks as though things will be both easier and harder than we imagined.” Diego frowned. “How is Aunt Bel doing?”

  Diego laughed out loud. “Isabela had a hard time convincing her staff that she was who she said she was. I understand that it took a very pointed demonstration to convince people. In all fairness, she does look younger than most of her... staff.” Jineva colored slightly. “What happened to Mateo?”

  “Oh, he’s still about a week out. I came via Elysium.” She couldn’t hold her father’s knowing stare. “Thallia wanted to patch me up, a little.”

  “I told you I should have come.” His tone was embarrassed.

  “You wouldn’t have been able to help. We never even saw the soldiers that were shooting at us, and all they saw were shapes swimming in the deep water.”

  “What did you do?”

  “We went deeper, down where they couldn’t see us.” She glanced around the harbor. “When did Admiral Para’s fleet get in?”

  “About a week ago. The crews partied for a day or two, and then Para put his foot down. There have been inspections every morning, work details scraping and painting the ships and the sailors are even helping to build Casa Barillo. I believe that we have our residents for the third city Richardo was talking about.” He gave her a speculative look. “How did you ever get from Soledad harbor back to the boat in daylight? I know you couldn’t swim dozens of miles, even without an arrow in your leg.”

  “Gluznaak called us a ride and it carried us back to the boat. I got off and he carried the rest of the Krathaa home.”

  “He?” Diego frowned.

  “His name is Mauug, and he is a... have you ever heard of a whale, Father?”

  Diego frowned some more, and looked out over the bay. “I heard a story once, of great creatures that flew in the sea like birds do in the air, with great flippers and flukes. Hundreds of feet long, they could swallow whole ships in one bite.”

  Jineva laughed. “Well, he is a couple of hundred feet long and he did open his mouth and take all seven of us in, safely carrying us dozens of miles to the schooner.”

  Diego looked at his daughter in amazement, astounded at how much she had grown up in the past few months. His face darkened. “What do we do now?”

  Jineva caught his mood. “We need to meet with Isabela. What we have to do will require all of us, or it won’t work. Are you busy right now?” Stretching, Diego got to his feet, holding out a hand to help Jineva up. Smiling into his face, she took it.

  “Nothing that can’t be postponed. I hope that Thallia remembers the disguises.”

  A voice whispered in their minds.

  “Yes, please, Thallia.”

 

  Two travelers stepped out of a shadow and into a short dim alley a hundred feet from the main street. A foggy foul smelling mist wound down the alley, almost concealing a bevy of fat gray rats scurrying by. Jineva wrinkled her nose at the cloying smell of rotting garbage. Glancing right and left, Diego walked further down the dark alley, finally stopping at a heavy studded door. There was no handle on the outside. He pounded on the door three times, waited a second and banged twice more. A small barred window in the door slid open.

  “It’s me, Olclo.” Diego growled roughly. The whiskered face beyond the window just nodded. There was the sound of bolts sliding, bars being lifted. The ironwood door swung open on silent hinges. Diego passed the doorman a small coin as he and Jineva entered, and the man gave him a nod and a familiar wink.

  A half dozen lightly clad, heavily made-up girls lounged in massive pillowed chairs under the light from a dozen golden lamps. Red velvet draped the walls and ceilings of the large, plushly decorated room. This time Jineva could have sworn she smelled fresh bread baking in an oven somewhere. From their spot at the front door she could see entrances to several darkened alcoves, while at the far end of the room Bel, dressed just as she had been the first time Jineva saw her, stood waiting behind an ornately carved wooden bar. Diego set his bag down with a thump.

  “Hello, Isabela.” He growled in a loud, carrying voice; then more softly. “Something has come up. We need to talk.”

  “Well, well. Didn’t get enough last time?” Her hands were on her hips, her voice wicked. Jineva stood back, watching the two consummate actors with admiration.

  “You know that I never get enough of you, my dear.” It was a casual move, almost to be expected. Diego reached out a hand and touched Bel’s bare arm. Jineva saw Isabela’s eyes widen as the two K’ Dreex communicated far faster than their humans.

  The woman in the mask swallowed. “If that’s the way you feel about it. I hope that you brought a LOT of money. I might even get around to teaching your young... nephew here.” Bel winked and Jineva blushed furiously, although deep inside she knew it was all an act. Isabela leveled a dark-eyed gaze at one of the lounging girls. “Camila, please take over for me for a while. I’ll be... busy.” Isabela’s sultry smile spoke volumes.

  The blond haired girl stood, pulling a sheer robe that covered very little closer about her. Diego pretended not to watch. “I suppose it won’t make any difference. Since the rumor about the plague in the castle, business has dropped off to nothing.” Her red lips were pouty.

  “That’s all right, Camila.” Bel’s response was unexpected. “I’m thinking of closing up anyway—for renovations, and opening a new place on Isla Lemuy, called the Ruby Slipper. There are lots of sailors there, with lots of money to spend.” Camila’s blue eyes brightened. “Now, watch the store.”

  “Yes, mistress.” The girl nodded.

  “And what do you think of my little scheme, Diego?” Bel purred, taking the big man’s arm.

  “I think that you are a wicked woman, who is going to become very very rich.” He patted her hand as he led her away. “Beautiful AND rich. Just the way I like them.” Behind them Camila just laughed with a high tinkling sound.

  Isabela opened the door to her apartment and stepped into...a conference room could have easily seated fifty people around the massive circular wooden table. The walls of the room were paneled in heavy dark wood, and a tall window that ran the entire length of one wall looked down a long green hill and onto a small, no more than four or five mile wide, lake. The three, sans disguises, stood speechless. Thallia was looking at the h
uge table, frowning.

  “I thought that I wanted a big conference room, but this is just plain silly.” She seemed to be speaking as much to herself as to her guests. The room flickered, and shrank. The table was now a dozen feet wide surrounded by comfortable chairs. The magnificent view was the same, however. “Ahhh, better.” A steaming silver pot of coffee, along with four cups and assorted accoutrements appeared on the table. “Help yourselves. No need to be formal in your own home.” Diego held chairs for Thallia and Bel while they sat. Bel looked amused while Thallia looked - thoughtful. “This is your idea, dear, so I’ll let you begin.” Thallia’s gray eyes pinned Jineva to her seat.

  “Well...” Jineva took a deep breath. “When we were under the castle in Soledad.” Somewhere along the line it had stopped being Castle Barillo. “We discovered a water-filled tunnel that runs right next to the active magma dome.” In the center of the table a three dimensional image of the harbor, magma dome and castle flickered into existence. Jineva, Diego and Isabela all gasped. The image turned and expanded, and Jineva could see the path she had taken through the caves under the mountain.

  “I took these images directly from your memory, Jineva, and from the information supplied by Logan MacKennit.” Thallia answered the question before they could ask it. A smaller image of the map appeared on the bottom now, while over it was the exact view seen by Jineva. They all saw her stop and look at the bubbles boiling out of the tunnel wall. The small map verified the closeness of the magma chamber.

  “This is where we have to break through the tunnel wall to let in the cold sea water. Am I correct?” Jineva asked nervously.

  “Yes, dear. That is the correct place.”

  Diego studied the drawing and the scene before him, sipping his coffee. “If I understand Jini correctly, it will take the combined effort of all three of us to break down the tunnel wall and pour the water into the magma chamber.”